things I think I think at any particular moment in time

Deep thought for the day: we were born too late to explore the planet, and too soon to explore the cosmos.

I read those words somewhere on the internet once and they really resonated with me. They make me feel sad because here we are on this planet, zipping around it in planes and boats and cars and trains, and even a trip into space now and then, but I look up at all of those stars and galaxies and other lights in the sky and I wonder what it would be like to explore them. But we can’t. We simply can’t preserve human life long enough to get there. Yet. Maybe some day we will, which is why the current generations fall in that in-between time.

But then that sadness fades away when I think about all of the things that the current generations can do, all the things we can explore. We have artificial explorers zipping around our galaxy, roving around on Mars. They are our eyes and ears in the cosmos right now. Our telescopes are incredibly powerful. We can detect planets and black holes. We are still exploring our planet’s oceans and some of the harder-to-reach parts of the planet’s surface. Our current generations are also tasked with preservation – making sure that our only home remains habitable for our children and grandchildren and so on. We have to be the best stewards in the history of humanity. And we also need to be preparing the human race to take that next step into the universe. Ridding ourselves of hate and anger and pride and all of the attitudes and prejudices that are poisonous here on Earth and should never travel with us into space when we finally do send human life far away from our current home. Our current generations need to refine humanity to pave the way for future explorers.

And that makes me hopeful. It gives me a sense of purpose. It makes me happy.